Las Vegas Lights owner Brett Lashbrook stood in his house on Christmas in 2017 trying on prototype uniforms that had just arrived from a warehouse in China. Lashbrook wasn’t sure what to make of the jerseys. There was a lot of neon. And a smiley face on the inside of the jersey. He knew they were love-‘em-or-hate-‘em. He also knew they fit exactly the identity he wanted his team to embrace: pure Vegas.

Lashbrook had actually been reeled in when designing the uniforms. His initial idea was to create his own jersey line, one that wouldn’t have restrictions placed on it by a major brand like Adidas or Nike, who provide silhouettes and templates but not fully customized kits because they service so many teams. He ran the idea past Stu Crystal, the former VP of consumer products at MLS.